Thanks to politicians [bought and paid-for], The Big 2.8 are looking at a nice little earner courtesy of, well, you. The Detroit News provides the gory details. "The U.S. House passed a housing bill 272-152 late Wednesday that includes a provision allowing unprofitable companies to get credit for up to $30 million in capital investments. An earlier stimulus bill gave profitable companies $45 billion in depreciation credits for investments made during the year. Instead of the depreciation credits, unprofitable companies [that's Ford, GM and Chrysler] could accelerate R&D tax credits or alternative minimum credits in lieu of the depreciation provisions." In non-accountantant speak, The Big 2.8 get a $30m free ride for investing in their own biz, but not Toyondissan 'cause they're well-run companies. Meanwhile., Newstalk 1310 says Wisconsin is looking to claw some money BACK from The General, re: their Janesville Assembly Plant. "State leaders want to recoup about $8 million dollars of the grants given to GM a few years ago. They say the company is not maintaining required employment numbers. GM has eliminated hundreds of jobs in recent months. It plans to close the Janesville plant altogether by the end of 2010."
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Remember folks, there are approximately 40k+ REGISTERED lobbyists in DC at this very moment.
Their salaries START at $300k per annum.
How many of them represent you PERSONALLY?
Taxation without representation indeed.
Ugh… I wish they would just let GM and the others deal with this problem of bad products and strategy themselves. Why do I have to pay for it too?
At least can we replace Rick Wagoner and Bob Lutz?
@rochskier:
At $300k, I think the more important question is, Why haven’t I become a lobbyist?
What a crock! The only “change” taking placing in DC this election year is the change being sucked out of all our pockets by the den of theives we call congress. And they’re only getting warmed up. Just wait until we all see what they want to shake us down for to save Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and their Wall Street enablers.
First off, not all lobbyists earn $300k and up.
I don’t have any problem with our government supporting our industries. However, will senior executives then still earn eight and nine-figure salaries? They’d better not! Union labor should then not earn far more than their market value, the kind that has created inflexibility preventing competitiveness. If we are expected to support the failing domestic auto industry, it’s important that a path for success is developed first by the automakers and unions. Is it fair to assume this is happening?
I like this idea…we take 6 companies and reward the bottom 3 who are running themselves into the ground b/c of greed. Way to reward ineffective and crooked executive and labor management! Here’s how that $30 will be spent:
$20M paid to the executive managers of the company for a wonderful job done and for [strike]begging[/strike] pushing this salary stimulus bill.
$5M goes into R&D for a better gas cap for SUVs that’ll help save .00005% in gas from spillage from soccer moms who are on cell phones and eating a snickers bar while filling up
$3M goes to Getmiddlefinger for a job well done and to buy him an exclusive Rolex retirement watch (the change leftover of the funds go into UAW donuts fund.
$2M goes towards commercials as to how great the D2.8 are doing and their new, new, new turnaround plans and how each brand now has an identity yet rebadged cars.
And where does the government get these taxpayer dollars? They have taken billions from GM and the Big 2.8 over the years. Kinda like killing the goose that layed the golden eggs, don’t you think?
It is gonna prove true that as GM goes so goes the USA.
Fellas,
Wanna end this cycle of foolishness? Then stop voting for incumbents. Make it as difficult as possible for GM and their ilk to keep buying politicians.
I only pay my lobbyist two and a quarter.
Just kidding. But I know one who works for an oil company and that’s all he makes.
Most of us here have several lobbyists because we are members of groups and organizations who hire them. I don’t know anyone who has a personal one.
Lobbyist is not a dirty word. OTOH, union lobbyist…
Bleeding a fountain of pure green cash in excess of manifold billions ,30m is not even a mere patch to stop liquidation of the patient GM. 30m is like flowers for funerals and a couple of black ribbons for last buicks rolling along Arlington cemetery. there should be another commandment on detroit right from God himself , sent through his dark angel on earth, akin to Stalin, who would be a cerberus of rusted detroit gates, with a loud voice warning- low quality shall not pass! fake products shall not pass!And those with attitude problems, or hearing problems shall receive the flames of inferno.
Companies need um..offerings of donations. Just like we need/ask for offering of great products. Giving and Receiving ie. Exhaling and Inhaling. Companies seem to take the easiest path to profits. Its naive to expect them to automatically give us what we need. Like if we were the center of their universe. That saying about the market works best when everyone is free to do what they want is um…harsh sometimes to us. Just like companies consumers purchases do not revolve around whats best for a company. Which is challenging. Humans have lots of ignorance(s), which are big obstacles to overcome. We don’t want to punish anyone. Competing is a complicated business. Not that I think someone needs to do GM’s job for them, just that its not anyone’s business to tell them what their job is, or them what is wrong. I’ll lighten up, live and let live. No victims here. No one has to like the Gov. giving away money to GM or whatever. No one really has control over the outcome anyhow. I need to let go, folks need to let go. Plant seeds, water the plant, but let go of the outcome.
That’s exactly right Landcrusher. Most people have a lobbyist, somewhere, fighting for something they believe in.
You could be a member of a church, a fan of the ACLU, a hunter, a lumberjack, a doctor, etc etc. Lobbyists are not just working for large corporations.
Congress just gave a blank check to fannie and freddie. At least I can have the option to drive a GM or Ford car if I want to. Meanwhile we’ll all be paying for everyone elses’ houses that we’ll never get to live in.
The ultimate result of the endless printing of all this new money is going to drive down the dollar AGAIN. So while our taxes are paying for housing bailouts and fed backed loans to domestic corporations, we’ll be taking in the ass on the other end in the form of higher prices in the form of inflation.
We’re going to be digging ourselves out of this shit for years to come.
Wanna end this cycle of foolishness? Then stop voting for incumbents.
And start paying attention.
So now, not only do Freddie and Fannie get easy access to the federal kitty, but the feds can buy stock too to protect the investments of the current investors. I like this approach. We might not be able to afford medical care for some neglected kid, but we can ‘protect the investment’ of people with enough money and carelessness to invest in these houses of cards. So I’m all in on GM stock as of this morning. Nothing but upside from here on out no matter what Rick and Bob do or say. The concept of financial risk is just a crock of shit.
To be fair, how many tax breaks to the states offer Toyondissan/BMW/VW/Mercedes to build plants in their state? These breaks aren’t offered to the 2.8, except when Saturn went into Springhill, TN back around 1990.
Jon Paul:
That is because they want to have factories in their state that stay alive therefore people keep their jobs.
I actually like the part in the Housing Bill that got snuck in about all credit card transactions get reported to the IRS. I guess with a bill that is 600 pages long, who has time to read it? bah Vote it in!!
Meanwhile., Newstalk 1310 says Wisconsin is looking to claw some money BACK from The General, re: their Janesville Assembly Plant. “State leaders want to recoup about $8 million dollars of the grants given to GM a few years ago. They say the company is not maintaining required employment numbers. GM has eliminated hundreds of jobs in recent months. It plans to close the Janesville plant altogether by the end of 2010.”
Goes to show that the government always gets it’s taxes.
Atlas Shrugged should be required reading for anyone trying to understand what is going on now.
If the government is going to bail out Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac, and Wall Street and the banks, why not GM? Bail out every loser. Just raise the taxes of the people that are intelligent enough to read a mortgage before they sign it.
First off, let me say I am not a lobbyist – never have been one, never will be one (bt I do like in the Metro DC area). Like most people who are functioning members of this society, I have “advocates” who look out for my interests, whether or not I personally approve or appreciate what they supposedly do on my behalf.
What they don’t have on Capitol Hill is lobbyists who represent the “Don’t Know Shit About Practically Everything, but I Still Like to Bitch and Moan” slice of society.
And BTW, just so you aborigines out there in Jesusland know, 300K per year ain’t no big deal around here. You’re paying the moron in the White House 400K per year and what are you gettng in return?
If you helped put him there, go bitch to the guy who watches you shave every morning.